Common/Alaskan/American Yellowjacket (Vespula alascensis)
SUMMERY:
Observed in Western and Eastern Washington. Mostly nests Subterranean and in concealed voided areas. Very aggressive and attacks like a bull dog by gripping with its mandibles and stinging repeatedly. Very small and commonly confused with Honeybees. The black on it tends to stand out more than the yellow. Nests are large, usually exceeding a few thousand. The nesting cycle usually starts in early summer and ends in early winter
NEST ANATOMY:
The nest material is typically made from decaying cellulose or other plant fibers. The comb structure usually has 10-15 layers at the end of the season. However, this depends on the success of the colony. The paper of the nest is very brittle and crumbles easily when touched. The paper machete (exterior paper) is scalloped and multi colored. Furthermore, the color of the nest is most commonly beige with stripes of occasional maroon.​​​
TAXANOMIC KEYS IN HAND: (Woker)
​Observable with the naked eye, one of the easiest wasys to ID this insects is from the Tergas. The first Terga, or T1 has only a very slight black triangular point fating towards the gastral vent (stinger area), with rarely any diomond shape. If the triangle point does form a diaomond shape, it will be very flat and hardly obserable. On the clypeus (nose) usually had a more percentage of black rather than yellow. More so that any other Yellow Jacket species in Washington. Also black stripe on the nose tends to extent upward into the forehead (Ocular space). Moreover, T2-T5 Black triangular points are shallow, and the black bumps on either side of the triangle are connected and shallow and dull as well.​
TAXANOMIC KEYS IN HAND: (Male)
​Observable with the naked eye, one of the easiest wasys to ID this insects is from the...​
TAXANOMIC KEYS IN HAND: (Queen)
​Observable with the naked eye, one of the easiest wasys to ID this insects is from the...​
